[Immunofluorescent method of studying autopsy material in acute pneumonia].

The immunofluorescent procedure in examinations of the autopsy material from 304 fatal cases hospitalized for acute pneumonia permitted to diagnose influenza A2 in 29.0%, influenza B in 18.1%, parainfluenza in 3.5%, adenovirus infection in 9.2% and respiratory syncytial virus infection in 3.5% of the cases. In the period of a high incidence of acute respiratory infection, influenza A2 was detected by this method in 40.9% and influenza B in 50% of the cases. Simultaneous examinations of the material in the influenza epidemic period by virological and immunofluorescent methods (63 cases) in 13 cases positive results were obtained with both methods, in 6 cases where influenza viruses were detected the immunofluorescent test was negative, and in 28 cases the positive diagnosis by the immunofluorescent test could not be confirmed virologically. Among the cases examined, 33 were found by the immunofluorescence test to have a mixed respiratory infection, including influenza A2 with other forms of respiratory infection in 18, and influenza B with other respiratory infections in 19 cases. Serological examinations by the complement fixation and hemagglutination inhibition tests on the blood from fatal cases irrespective of the time of examination, as a rule, revealed antibody in low titres which did not confirm the diagnosis.